


Fate Only Takes You So Far

by shortystylee



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Can't Hardly Wait (1998), Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-17
Updated: 2015-12-18
Packaged: 2018-05-07 07:32:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5448362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shortystylee/pseuds/shortystylee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>...once you're there, it's up to you to make it happen. </p><p>ASOIAF version of Can't Hardly Wait. </p><p>It's the last party of high school before Margaery leaves for a summer internship, and she's just found out that her crush for the past four years, Sansa Stark, is newly single. It's her last chance to finally tell her how she feels... easy, right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Graduation, 11am

The sun beat down from a sky that was clear as far as you could see, as a crowd of around four hundred seniors sat in folding chairs on the freshly clipped turf of the Kings Landing Central High football field, sweltering under polyester robes, ignoring the speeches of their principal, their valedictorian, and then the local business owner who was picked as the keynote speaker. Parents, family, friends, and teachers filled the bleachers, many of them using folded up graduation programs as fans on the hot June day. Margaery slid further down in her chair, thanking the gods that her last name let her sit in the second to last row. She was trying to think about anything except what their creepy vice-principal Mr. Baelish was saying, and her mind somehow wandered to the conversation she'd had with Gendry over breakfast a few hours ago.

 

_“So, do you think she’ll be there tonight?” Margaery asked. Even though today was graduation, she and Gendry were seated in the same booth as always at the small diner where his mom waitressed, just around the block from the school._

_“Do I think who’ll be there?” He asked, shoving a forkful of eggs and hash browns in his mouth messily. They'd been friends since his mother first moved here when he was in first grade, and she blamed their comfort level with each other on his poor manners._

_“Ugh, charming as always Gen,” she chided. “And you know who I mean… Sansa.”_

_“Of course, dummy. She’s the most popular girl in school, she’ll be there,” he paused for a second to put a second round of ketchup on his hash browns, which by now where more ketchup than potato. “And probably hanging off that dickhead Joffrey’s arm, if I had to guess. Don’t you think it’s about time you stopped pining after her? I’m not sure she’s said one thing to you in all four years.”_

_“Well, thanks for the pep talk, Gendry. I love that I can always count on you to cheer me up… or rather, bring me back to reality.”_

_“Anything for you, Maggy.”_

 

She sat between two classmates she wasn’t friends with, playing a game on her phone and waiting impatiently for the ceremony to be done. She had plans – real plans – unlike the rest of these losers. Graduate, have one last hurrah of sorts tonight at Jeyne’s party, and then the next day she would pack up her car and make the two day trek to Greywater Watch for a summer long biology lab before starting university there in the fall. She swore under her breath when all of a sudden her phone vibrated in her hands and a text message from Gendry popped up on the screen.

 

_-Are you listening to what people are saying?_

_-Nope, playing candy crush. What’s up?_

_-Joffrey Baratheon dumped Sansa Stark last night._

 

She turned her head so quickly to look four seats down the row at Gendry that she thought her neck might snap.

 

_-What? How the shit do you know that?_

_-Sansa’s best friend Jeyne told Pod Payne who told Gwen Yronwood, who’s next to me, running her mouth to everyone around_.

 

 _This is it_ , Margaery thought. _I’ve been waiting four years for this chance._

 

Hats were thrown in the air and they were finally ushered off the football field to go meet their families, and at the first moment possible, Margaery jumped ahead of a few people to catch up with Gendry.

 

“I’m gonna do it. Tonight. Tonight’s the night I tell her." Her eyes were wide with excitement, but there was a horrific amount of terror that was building just below the surface.

 

“Really now? Well, be sure to tell me all about it afterwards.”

 

“Tell you? There is no way you're going to be sitting at home playing computer games tonight. You’re coming to this party too.”

 

Gendry shook his head. “No, actually I’m –"

 

She cut him off, roughly yanking on his arm, but then saw her family up ahead. She clasped her arm with his, plastering a huge smile across her face. “Gendry Waters, so help me gods,” she began, speaking through her teeth while keeping her smile, “You’re going to this party.” She heard him sigh loudly, and knew she’d won.


	2. Plans

**Bella’s Diner, 6pm**

 

“Man, I cannot wait for this party tonight. Time to celebrate my freedom after having to deal with Sansa’s bullshit for the past four years.”

 

“I can’t believe you broke up with her,” Meryn said.

 

Joffrey Lannister – captain of the varsity football and basketball teams, the homecoming King and prom King – was finally free of Sansa Stark. Free of high school. There was one last high school party to rip up with his friends tonight before it was summer vacation and then college. The only problem looming was that all three of his friends still had their girlfriends hanging around. He’d called them to the diner for dinner before the party and to give them a mission.

 

“The fuck you talking about, bro? Of course I broke up with her lame ass.”

 

Osmund Kettleblack, or Oz as everyone called him, looked up from his food. “She was so hot though. Legit ten.”

 

“Maybe. If you’re into high school chicks. But we start college soon. Kings Landing University, top party school according to Wild Westeros for five years running. And you know who goes to college?”

 

Meryn shrugged and sent a confused look to Oz, while Blount was still more interested in the burger and onion rings that the waitress had just set in front of him.

 

“Women, you idiots, women! Women who don’t live with their parents, who don’t have curfews. They’re probably just sitting around waiting for the next batch of eligible men to take into their beds. You know they give away condoms in the dorms? Like, for free and shit.”

 

“No, no. There’s no way that’s true,” Blount said. Something had finally piqued this interest. “Buncha hotties just waiting around to fuck freshman guys? I don’t believe it.”

 

“Would I lie to you?” They all shook their heads. “Trust me. You guys are gonna be lame as shit if you roll up there all tied down to your high school girlfriends… who, might I remind you, are not going to the same school. I’m gonna be out partying and getting with new girls every weekend… shit, every night probably… while you three are gonna be busy sitting in your dorm rooms on FaceTime with your girlfriends and jerking off in the shower.”

 

Meryn looked at Joff, then to Oz and Blount. “He’s totally right. You don’t think that we should dump our girlfriends too?”

 

“They are kinda lame,” Oz said.

 

“See that’s what I’m talking about!” Joff yelled, way too loudly to inside the restaurant. “Break up with them, and we’ll have the rest of the summer to get drunk, fuck around, and head to college without those bitches holding us back.”

 

**That same diner’s parking lot, 8pm**

 

Gendry followed Margaery out the door of the same diner they’d had breakfast in that morning, to her silver boxy Volvo wagon in the parking lot. She knew she could’ve probably weaseled a newer car out of her father, but this one had been passed down from her oldest brother when he graduated college and moved away, and each time she drove it, she was reminded of how cool she felt when Garlan would take her out for ice cream or burgers with his friends.

 

“I cannot believe I’m going to this party with you,” Gendry said. He’d been trying to think up an excuse to get out of it all evening. _Maybe the Qartheen flu is going around? Can I fake that?_ He heard the lock on his door click open and reluctantly got inside.

 

“I can’t believe he broke up with her. What an idiot. I tell you what, Gendry, this is fate. It has to be.” She started the car and reversed out of the spot, then made their way to the road.

 

“Fate? Please, give me a break.”

 

“There’s no other explanation. It’s our last chance before I leave for Braavos, she’s single, I’m single—“

 

“You’ve been single most of high school,” Gendry reminded her.

 

“…I’m single,” she repeated. “And, I’ve still got the letter.”

 

“You’re out of your mind. That doesn’t mention the Lunchables connection, does it?”

 

“Of course it does!” She looked over at him incredulously while they were stopped at a red light. “Who the fuck else eats Lunchables for breakfast in first hour except for me? One other person – Sansa Stark. These sorts of things aren’t coincidences. If only I’d raised my hand a little bit sooner, Mrs. Bronson would’ve chosen me to give her a tour of the school, and then she’d going to the party with me tonight, instead of heartbroken from that dickbag Joffrey. I’m tellin’ you, it’s fate. Small messages from the Seven to help two people’s love lives.”

 

“Mags, the Seven don’t give two shits about your love life.”

 

“Yes they do, Gendry Waters,” Margaery insisted. “Who knows? Maybe if you let down your guard for once in your life then the Seven will work their magic for you too. Maybe even tonight.” She looked over and smiled at him, just in time to hear him grumble something to himself and roll his eyes.

 

**Merry Waters Mobile Home Park, Sandor Clegane’s bedroom, 8:30pm**

 

“So, Stark. You wanna remind me again why we have to go to this party?”

 

Arya looked up from where she sat on the grubby carpeted floor. Each time she went over there she had to move all his shit around to make a spot for her and Jaqen to sit. Sandor was gigantic, easily the tallest, most well-built guy in school, and he was sprawled out on his full size mattress on the floor in the corner, making it look like it’d been made for a toddler. Mya Stone was next to him, and though Arya knew the girl loved her to pieces, she was giving her and Jaqen a death stare, the kind that only meant they should leave so her and Sandor could fool around before his dad got home from second shift. Arya ignored her looks, just as she ignored Jaqen trying to cozy up to her since they had gotten there.

 

“Dude. Didn’t we already go over this?” Sandor cocked his head to the side questioningly. “Fine, I’ll tell you _again_. Jaqen’s cousin, the waify skinny girl who goes to that private school, well he saw her last night and she passed on some impressive green for us to unload at the party tonight.”

 

“A girl is right,” Jaqen chimed in, then winced when he felt Arya’s elbow go straight to his kidney. She hated when he talked that way. “Rather, _Arry_ is right. I’ve got some for us to keep and we’ll get a pretty good cut of what we sell tonight. And it is _choice_ , my friends. She got it from Essos, makes that Highgarden shit seem like child’s play.”

 

Arya watched Sandor’s eyes become dollar signs as Jaqen explained. “Well, shit, that’s all you had to say.” He got up, grabbed the keys to his truck and a flask of something off the night stand, and motioned for them to follow.

 

_Good, didn’t take nearly as long as I’d expected to convince them to go. Now to see how long it’ll take to ditch Jaqen… and the rest of them once we get there._


End file.
